THANKS TO EVERYONE THAT SHOPPED WITH US.
THE TIZ THE LAW STORE IS NOW CLOSED.

Sackatoga Stable LLC was founded by Jack Knowlton and Ed Mitzen in July 2006. Jack has had an integral role, serving as a Managing Partner since 1995 and as the racing manager for more than 30 racehorses, including 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide. Ed oversees the communications arm of the corporation and has significant experience as a racehorse owner. 

Barclay Tagg represents Sackatoga Stable at horse sales. He is responsible for selecting horses for purchase as well as training all Sackatoga Stable horses. Horses purchased at yearling and two-year-old in training sales in Florida are initially sent to New Episode Training Center in Ocala, Florida where they are prepared for their racing careers under the leadership of owner Tony Everard.

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OUR TEAM​

 

JACK KNOWLTON | OPERATING MANAGER

Jack Knowlton has been the Operating Manager of Sackatoga Stable since 1995, serving as the racing manager for more than 30 racehorses, including 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide. He participates with Trainer Barclay Tagg in the purchase of Sackatoga Stable horses as well as the selection of races in which they run.

For over a decade Jack has contributed his talents to the thoroughbred racing community at a national as well as New York State level. In 2004-05 he served as a member of the NTRA Jockey Insurance Working Group. He served as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing in New York State from 2005 to 2007 and also served on New York State’s Task Force on Retired Race Horses from 2009 to 2011. He also played a leadership role in assisting the New York State Gaming Commission in organizing Aftercare Summits in Saratoga Springs in 2015 and 2016.

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ED MITZEN | MARKETING DIRECTOR

Appropriately referred to as the serial entrepreneur, Ed has built four marketing companies totaling over $200 million in combined revenue. 

 

Ed is currently building his fourth company, Fingerpaint.  Fingerpaint is a full-service health and wellness marketing agency with 350 employees, nearly $80 million in annual revenue and five offices across the United States. Before forming Fingerpaint, Ed founded Palio Communications, an advertising and communications agency in Saratoga Springs, NY. During the rise of Palio, Ed's leadership and business acumen brought the agency from a local five-person shop to a twenty-five-million dollar annual company with nearly 150 employees.

 

Ed is the author of “More Than a Number,” a book about the power of empathy and philanthropy in business. He is a frequent lecturer on the topics of advertising and marketing at a number of top colleges and universities, including the University of Rochester and Skidmore College, as well as a speaker at top international conferences. He is also an active member of the local community, holding board positions over the years at various not-for-profit organizations including the Albany Chamber of Commerce, The Hyde Collection, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), Union Graduate College, the Double H Ranch, the Saratoga Care Foundation and the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs. 

 

Ed has three wonderful children:  Emily, Nick and Grace.  He resides in Saratoga Springs with his wife Lisa.

 

BARCLAY TAGG | TRAINER

Barclay Tagg’s renowned career as a trainer began in 1971. He served as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Frank Whitely and is best known as the trainer of Sackatoga Stable’s three year old champion Funny Cide, the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, as well as the Jockey Gold Cup in 2004. He currently trains Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law, who has won 3 grade I races, including the Belmont Stakes, Florida Derby and The Champagne.

Barclay has saddled over 1.500 winners during his training career including prestigious Grade I races such as the Wood Memorial, Cigar Mile (twice), QEII and Secretariat. Other major stakes wins include the Kelso, Suburban Handicap, Jerome Handicap, Lake George, Tampa Bay Derby, Red Smith, National Museum Hall of Fame, the Futurity, Cornhusker Breeders Cup, and Holy Bull. See information about Barclay and his current stable at www.barclaytaggracing.com.

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ROBIN SMULLEN | ASSISTANT TRAINER

Robin Smullen has been the Assistant Trainer for the Barclay Tagg Racing Stable since 1998. She grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania that had show horses, basically born on horseback and riding before she could walk. “Horses are all I’ve know from day one”, she says. Robin showed horses on the “A” circuit before becoming a full-time participant in the thoroughbred horse racing industry.

 

Following graduation from high school, she worked for Dr. John R.S. Fisher for several years which was a great learning experience. He taught her about checking legs and “going over horses” to look for any issues they may have. After that she worked for a few different trainers and eventually became a trainer at Charlestown and Delaware Park. Realizing how difficult it is to operate a small stable, she went back to work for Dr. Fisher. That was when she met Barclay (1996) and began working for him a year later. She and Barclay have been inseparable ever since sharing a passion for horses that is unrivaled in the thoroughbred industry.

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TONY EVERARD | TRAINING CENTER OWNER

Tony Everard and his wife, Elizabeth, are the owners of New Episode Training Center in Ocala, Florida. For over 50 years Tony has been evaluating and preparing young racehorses for the rigors of becoming successful thoroughbred racehorses. Tony is best known for initially purchasing Funny Cide as a yearling, recognizing his potential and preparing him for his racing career. Tony sold Funny Cide to Sackatoga Stable as a two year old in a private sale. In addition to Funny Cide, Tony has had multiple stake-winning graduates at New Episode Training Center, including Richter Scale, Gun Salute and Cayuga’s Waters.

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AARON KNOWLTON | DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Aaron has joined the Sackatoga Stable management team as the organization grows through the addition of horses and partners. He will assist in identifying sponsorship opportunities as well as merchandising and marketing approaches designed to attract new partners.

 

He has been a lifelong fan of horse racing. Aaron was among the first investors when Sackatoga Stable, LLC was formed in 2006 having participated in every LLC since 2008. He used to quip that the horses were a great tax write-off every year, but that changed with the arrival of Tiz the Law!

 

Aaron, not surprisingly as Jack’s son, began handicapping at about the same time he learned to count. He also believes passionately in “doing the right thing” by the horses and people who bring thoroughbred owners such joy, and regularly supports organizations such as Old Friends that are focused on providing a good home for retired racehorses.

 

He currently serves as Vice President, Partnerships at ExecOnline, a venture capital-backed edtech company. Prior to joining ExecOnline, Aaron was a Managing Principal at EAB, another edtech that he helped grow from a startup in 2007 to a firm with over 1,500 employees and $280 million in annual revenue by the time he left in 2019.

 

Aaron currently resides in Palo Alto, CA with his wife Roula and three daughters: Christine, Julia, and Maria.

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RACHEL DUNN | SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Rachel Dunn is a marketing and branding professional with keen instincts for impacting bottom-line performance on a local, national and global level. Following her graduation from Penn State, Rachel embarked on a fruitful career in advertising, overseeing sonic branding projects for global brands including Nike, Target, Microsoft and BMW. Relocating to the east coast, she spent three years at Otter Consulting, working directly with the Former Owner/CEO of the Houston Rockets. In her adopted hometown of Saratoga Springs, NY, Rachel has spearheaded various branding initiatives including the creation of a talent attraction branding campaign for ACE/CEG’s Capital Region Branding Initiative, pitching and creating a sonic brand for CDTA and starting the social media project CapGirlsNY. She is excited to bring her passion for horse racing and building brands to Sackatoga Stable, LLC. 

 

Rachel sits on the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s Marketing Committee and will be joining the Host Committee for Franklin Community Center. On the horizon is a program to help bring diversity to the Region’s marketing industry.

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